Don't it make your brown eyes blue?
by Slayergirl
Summary: Leo, Harry and Nikki all attend a works Valentine's Day Ball. Leo takes Janet as his plus one, but Harry and Nikki are both, sadly, dateless. Neither of them's happy about it. Will there be a happy ending? Read to find out. FLUFF ALERT!


**Author's Note: **The song is Crystal Gale's 'Don't it make my brown eyes blue.' I would LOVE to see a fanvid using this as the track (but sadly I can't do them myself), so PLEASE, if anyone out there would like to do it, I would be a very VERY happy bunny, and will reward you with more Harry/Nikki goodness.

Not my first SW fic, I just haven't got round to publishing the others yet, so if you want more, please R&R. ;-)

And, of course, I own nothing. Even Harry, sadly. The BBC owns all.

**Don't it make my brown eyes blue?**

Harry hated Valentine's Day, and he particularly hated the Valentine's Day Ball that they were all meant to attend. Mainly, this was because he never seemed to have a date, which wasn't so bad when Leo was on his own, and they could be two grumpy single men, but this year, Leo was very much with Janet. His only comfort was that, this year, Nikki for once didn't seem to have a date. At least he wasn't the only one.

He refused to think any more about why that should make him happy, because he knew he wouldn't like the answers. Anyway, there were other singles there – ones he didn't know – and they were taking far more of an interest in her than he approved of. They were probably very nice people, he told himself, but he still didn't like them. He didn't mind her dancing with Leo – it was a sort of fatherly-duty kind of thing, in the same way that he'd danced with Janet – but he didn't like the look of the guy who was heading towards Nikki right now with a determined look on his face. That really didn't fit in with his plans for this evening.

Luckily, he was standing closer to Nikki, and whisked her onto the dance floor before Mr. Inappropriate had a chance to get anywhere near her. "No date tonight?" he inquired casually, leading her into dance hold.

"No," she sighed.

"Not even the sniff of interest?" He hoped it sounded sympathetic rather than curious. She'd seemed a bit down all evening; clearly this was getting to her.

_**Don't know when I've been so blue,**_

_**Don't know what's come over you.**_

She glanced up at him briefly, then down again. "There's someone I like," she admitted, unwillingly.

His heart plummeted.

_**You've found someone new,**_

_**And don't it make my brown eyes blue?**_

"Oh? What's he like, then? Don't tell me, tall, dark and handsome?"

"We all dream of that," she said, with an uneasy smile.

"So, what's so great about him?" He asked, trying not to sound jealous.

_**I'll be fine when you're gone,**_

_**I'll just cry all night long.**_

"He's funny, charming, intelligent, he makes me laugh. He makes me feel good about myself. And yes, he's tall and dark and handsome."

"Quite a paragon," he commented lightly.

_**Say it isn't true,**_

_**And don't it make my brown eyes blue?**_

"He's interested in the work I do," she went on, looking off into the distance. "And he's the best kisser I've ever come across."

Harry wanted to punch him, whoever he was. "And that must be saying something," he tried to joke.

_**Tell me no secrets, tell me some lies,**_

_**Give me no reasons, give me alibis**_

"Quite a romantic, in his way, though he'd probably never admit to it," she ploughed on.

"So how come this perfect guy isn't your date tonight?"

_**Tell me you love me and don't make me cry,**_

_**Say anything but don't say goodbye.**_

"I've no idea if he really likes me or not," she confessed.

"If he kissed you…?" he prompted, trying not to wince, and pulled her a little closer. He could feel her shiver as he did, and his mind screamed at her. _How can you think you're interested in him when you respond to me like that?!_

_**I didn't mean to treat you bad,**_

_**Didn't know just what I had.**_

There was a long pause. "It was some time ago," she said finally.

A thought occurred to him, and he smiled.

_**But, Honey, now I do,**_

_**And don't it make my brown eyes blue?**_

"There was a girl I liked, once," he said. "I let her slip through my fingers because I wasn't sure how she felt. Or how I felt, at the time. It was some lovely dream that was over far too quickly, but I still think of her…"

The look on Nikki's face as she looked up at him was one of utter pain that she tried so hard to hide. She didn't say anything, so he continued.

"Don't make the same mistake I did, Niks. Go for it."

_**Don't it make my brown eyes blue?**_

He almost regretted saying it when she looked as though she was about to burst into tears, and he knew his guess was right. He pulled her closer. "Sometimes, Niks, you have to follow your dreams… at least, you should follow this one. Probably."

"Probably?" she sounded as though he'd just thrown her a lifeline.

_**Don't it make my brown eyes blue?**_

"Well, you should definitely follow that dream if this tall, dark, devilishly handsome guy was the one who swept you off your feet one rainy night about… oh, three years ago?... in a little pub… in front of a roaring fire… with a kiss that had a lot more to do with the fact he'd always wanted to kiss you than with shutting you up…" He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. "Prune-features."

She snorted with laughter suddenly, nestling closer to him, and wrapped her arms round his neck. "That'll be the one," she replied, her voice slightly muffled, as her face was buried on his shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head. "D'you think Leo would mind if we left him and Janet to it?"

She shook her head. "Just tell him you think I've had too much to drink and you're dropping me home."

"Have you and am I?"

"No and no."

"Good. On both counts."

_Perhaps the bottle of champagne chilling in his fridge would serve a purpose after all._


End file.
